The first session we attended was with content marketing expert Joe Pulizzi. One of the takeaways we most wanted to share with you from the presentation is the idea of creating a content marketing mission statement.

Long before you create a blog, brainstorm topics, or write your first blog post, it’s critical to make sure that you (and anyone else who will contribute) know exactly what it is you’re setting out to do. If you aren’t sure, how can your audience be?

Congratulations, you’ve decided to dive into the world of crowdfunding!

Before you take the plunge, consider creating a companion website to enhance your Kickstarter, Indiegogo, or other crowdfunding campaign. The following must-haves will ensure your project gets off to a great start with a home for telling your story to potential backers, journalists, and other interested parties.

1. Domain NameIf you don’t have a domain name, that’s the first place to start. The best option is to match your domain name to your company, product, or project. Create a memorable domain name by making sure it’s short, easy to spell, and complementary to your brand. A custom domain name will give your website a professional address that’s easier for customers and backers to remember. Plus, it will provide extra real estate for your project in search engines.

As a small business owner or entrepreneur, you pride yourself on the ability to wear multiple hats – accountant, marketer, HR manager, analyst, etc.

But we know that what you really care about most is your customer. Which is why you wear all those hats – to be fast, agile, and dedicated to providing the best service and/or product for your consumers.

Sometimes it is tough, and you wonder, ‘if I had resources like the big businesses have, would I be able to better provide for my customers?’

You have a vision for your small business. The vision is for your product, your mission, and every single detail down to your logo.

But sometimes small business owners have a hard time communicating that vision to the person that can turn their vision into a reality: their designer.

Maybe you’ve seen the client comments turned into posters, and fear that your lack of knowledge about design terms will leave you in that “terrible client” category. You want to maintain a happy and healthy relationship with your designer, but know that if you knew the proper terminology, you would both be happier with the final results.

Everyone knows that in order to make an omelet, you have to crack a few eggs. Apparently that old adage is core to Google’s development strategy, according to a company representative speaking about Google Glass at SXSW.

According to Mashable, Astro Teller, head of the Google X division from whence Glass came, told the crowd “if you want to make a ton of progress, you have to make a ton of mistakes.” He was referring, of course, to the somewhat bumpy ride that Google Glass has had since its introduction.

Does it crawl all over you when people suggest a deep dive on a certain topic? Will you, in fact, punch the next person who refers to a new idea as disruptive? Whether it’s getting something on the roadmap, increasing your team’s bandwidth, suggesting a paradigm shift, or doing anything via bootstrapping, startup jargon can wear on even the most ambitious entrepreneur.

It’s important to be able to speak the language when dealing with potential investors and partners, but it’s also important to be self-aware and do your best not to overuse jargon. Sure, we might need to ideate on hacks that can lead to deliverables that address clients’ pain points, but let’s have a little fun while doing it, eh?

Deciding to break out on your own and start a small business is a bold move. So bold, in fact, that some people think all you need in order to do it is the appropriate amount of gumption. In our current culture, there is a certain amount of glamour assigned to the entrepreneur – from eccentric celebs to startup success stories, there’s no shortage of encouragement out there. But when it comes down to brass tacks, the business of self-employment should not be taken lightly.

Whether it’s a tiny kitten scaring a large dog, or Taylor Swift dancing awkwardly at an awards show, there’s something about seeing a few seconds of time captured in an infinite loop that appeals to us.

Sometimes a situation becomes funnier the longer it plays out, like a Will Ferrell joke; or sometimes we notice details we hadn’t before, and we stare at it for five, or ten, or twenty loops before moving on to the next image.

A GIF can be entrancing and hypnotic when done well (see “Full English” image below) or irritating when done poorly (if the loop is off by a fraction of a second).

With the return of Daylight Savings Time here in the US, we are finally starting to see springtime on the horizon. And as the northeastern part of the country finally starts to thaw, you can feel the excitement about shedding winter layers and actually taking time to think about style again. With that in mind, we thought today was an excellent time to feature a Webs user website that we really enjoy: Man Of The Hour Magazine.

Not only is this an excellent online magazine website example, the site is jam-packed with insightful lifestyle articles. As described on their Facebook page, Man Of The Hour is “dedicated to cultivating the emerging generations of sophisticated men.” If you’re thinking about starting an online magazine or journal and want to emulate this website, take a look at the 3 things that make this a site successful: